ITT 



THE HERONRY IN RICHMOND PARK 



WHEN the Duke of Fife kindly took the envoys of 

 Gungunhana to see Richmond Park, they asked " where 

 were his assegais ? " Such at least was the story current 

 at the time, and it may well have been true ; for the 

 park, with its deer, its game, its ancient oaks, pools, 

 lakes, and heronry, is a typical piece of wild England, 

 such as might well appeal to the sporting impulse of 

 wild men like these African chiefs, and remains, almost 

 unspoilt, within an houf s walk of the greatest city in 

 the world. The contrast enhances the interest of this 

 famous domain. But apart from the accident of site, 

 Richmond Park can claim on its merits a place among 

 the best of these enclosed " paradises " in which English- 

 men take such pride and pleasure. In size it equals 

 that of any private park in England except Hawkstone. 

 Towards the sunset it looks over a riverside landscape 

 of incomparable richness, and the whole is just suffi- 

 ciently preserved for Royal sport, to maintain the 

 proper character of a park, as a precinct devoted to 

 the sport and recreation of a single owner. It is to 

 this careful surveillance that Londoners owe the estab- 



